Costa Rica: Solis & Cordero

High in the mountains of Costa Rica’s Los Santos region, in the small community of Copey de Dota, smallholder producers cultivate one of the coffee world’s most celebrated varieties: gesha. Grown at altitudes above 1,800 metres, the coffee cherries mature slowly in the cool mountain climate, allowing the beans to develop the aromatic complexity that makes this variety so sought-after.

This lot is processed at Solís & Cordero Micromill, founded in 2018 by the Solís Cordero family. Their mission is to help smallholder farmers access the specialty coffee market and showcase the unique qualities of their harvests. By keeping each producer’s coffee separate, rather than blending everything into a regional lot, they preserve traceability and give individual farmers the recognition their work deserves.

The process begins with the careful handpicking of ripe, red cherries. After inspection and washing, the whole cherries are spread across raised drying beds, where they are regularly raked to ensure even drying. Over approximately 12 days, the fruit dries naturally around the beans, helping develop the coffee’s distinctive sweetness and complexity.

Gesha has its roots in Ethiopia, where coffee plants were collected from forest regions in the 1930s. The variety later travelled through Tanzania to Central America, eventually becoming world-famous after a remarkable performance at Panama’s Best of Panama competition in 2005. Its delicate floral aromas and elegant fruit character quickly established it as one of the most prestigious varieties in specialty coffee.

This Costa Rican natural gesha offers an opportunity to experience that celebrated variety through the work of dedicated smallholder producers. Expect an expressive, aromatic cup where floral elegance meets the sweetness and depth created by natural processing — a coffee shaped by high-altitude growing conditions, careful craftsmanship and a commitment to quality.